Tokyo, April 6, 2021 – D.A.Consortium Inc. (DAC) is pleased to announce that it has formed a business alliance with Loop Now Technologies Inc. (Loop Now Technologies) to serve as a strategic partner and support the company’s full-fledged market entry into Japan. As part of this effort, DAC has begun offering Firework, Loop Now Technologies’ web story management platform first launched in the US.

With improvements to the digital environment brought about by the arrival of 5G, more and more sei-katsu-sha (a term Hakuhodo uses to denote people with lives, aspirations and dreams, not simply “consumers”) are watching more videos than ever before. In particular, vertical-format, short-form videos called “stories” that are offered on such major platforms as Instagram and Twitter are growing in popularity and are expected to become the main format for providing content.

Firework is a web story management platform that allows users to quickly and easily post vertical short videos on all types of websites (digital media sites, e-commerce sites, company sites, etc.). Companies can install Firework on their company website to increase engagement, customer satisfaction, motivation to buy, and customer lifetime value (LTV), which consequently, will contribute to building more profitable business models.

In one actual example, an overseas company tripled user time spent on its website and improved engagement four-fold. In addition, because Firework loads eight times faster than similar services, it was able to significantly enhance website user convenience.

Worldwide, approximately 700 websites, more than 30 apps, seven mobile telecommunications companies and five website browsers have already implemented Firework, and these networks in total have more than 250 million monthly visitors.

For the Japanese market entry of Firework, DAC has been working with Loop Now Technologies on trial implementations since last year. Currently, we have completed implementation for over 100 websites. With a forecast that demand for Firework will increase in the future, DAC concluded a new strategic partner business agreement with Loop Now Technologies. DAC will analyze the metadata related to the huge volume of vertical short stories that have been delivered up until now to develop a diverse range of services.

■Firework characteristics

Firework offers a choice of several website display methods so that each website can utilize the method that fits its own specifications. Firework also has such ad delivery functions as pre-roll ads to help create more monetization opportunities. In addition, Firework provides a global marketplace for third-party content so that companies can incorporate them in their websites. In terms of e-commerce (EC), Firework collaborates with Shopify and numerous other content management systems (CMS) to help invigorate the video consumer market.

■Comment from Vincent Yang
To support our full-fledged entry into the Japanese market, Firework has decided to form a business alliance with DAC, a company with extensive experience in online advertising in Asia and in working collaboratively with companies in the digital realm. Working together to promote the widespread adoption of Firework, the two companies will strive to increase monetization opportunities in EC, ads and other areas, and promote the digitalization of video content.

DAC will continue to actively develop initiatives that advance the digital transformation (DX) of companies and media, including video content.

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＜Loop Now Technologies Inc.＞　 www.firework.tv
Headquartered in Silicon Valley, Firework is a B2B short video platform whose offerings allow any website or app to publish their own short video content, or leverage the Firework content library, increasing engagement and conversions while also giving them access to their own traffic data and the ability to monetize through ads. Firework’s mission is to empower the open web with tools that enable video engagement outside of the walled gardens of the social media giants. To date, the company has raised $55M and has offices in California, New York, London, Tokyo, Mumbai, and Moscow.

Representative	：Vincent Yang, CEO
Head Office	：2635 Broadway Street, Redwood City, CA 94063, United States
Established	：2017
Business	：Operation of a web story management platform that facilitates easy posting of short-form videos called stories on websites (digital media, EC, company and other). Provision of CMS, ad platforms and EC solutions.

＜Corporate Information＞　
■ D.A.Consortium Inc. 　　　　　　　 https://www.dac.co.jp/english/
Since its establishment in 1996 during the early days of online advertising, DAC is leading the industry in market formation and growth as it steadily expands its operations with the digital transformation of information and lifestyles.

Currently, DAC operates advertising and marketing businesses centered on digital technology both in Japan and overseas. The company provides comprehensive support, from consulting and planning to ad space purchasing, selling, management and results analysis. With a firm understanding of the characteristics of different media, DAC also produces creative, develops and provides solutions that bridge its wealth of data with advanced technologies, and supports global promotional initiatives.

With the mission, “Empowering the digital future,” DAC will continue to be at the forefront in creating new forms of advertising and marketing and providing new value to society.

Representative	：Masaya Shimada, President & CEO
Head Office	：Yebisu Garden Place Tower, 4-20-3, Ebisu, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
Established	：December 1996
Business	：Online media transaction related business, Solution business, 　Ad Operations Business

For inquiries regarding this News Release
D.A.Consortium Inc.
Corporate Strategy Group Public Relations / E-mail：ir_inf@dac.co.jp